Toy engine starter with replaceable pull cord



1 958 E. BACCUS ETAL 2,846,993

TOY ENGINE STARTER WITH REPLACEABLE PULL CORD Filed Sept. 4, 1956INVENTORS.

United States Patent TOY ENGINE STARTER WITH REPLAQEABLE PULL CORD EddyL. Baccus, Culver City, and John W. Mclioslrey,

West Los Angeles, Caliil, assignors to Wen-Mac Corporation, Les Augeles,alif., a corporation of Caii= fornia Application September 4, 1956,Serial No. 607,692

1 Claim. (Cl. 123-479) The present invention relates generally to toyengine starters of the type utilizing a pull cord, and is moreparticularly concerned with a unique construction which will facilitatethe placement of the pull cord, when it becomes broken or frayed.

Miniature engine starters of the above type are of necessity extremelysmall, and present construction and operational problems which do notoccur in connection with devices of larger size. These miniaturestarters, in order to fit into confined spaces and operate in connectionwith the miniature engines have heretofore been constructed with theircomponent parts so arranged that it was difiicult to replace the starterpull cord by utilization of ordinary skill and with the tools usuallyavailable. it was therefore necessary to return the engine to thebuilder, whenever a pull cord became frayed or broken. Such procedurewas inconvenient and required loss of time and was not always asatisfactory procedure. In order to reduce the loss of time andinconvenience, it was the common practice of the builder to return anexchange engine and starter unit which could be promptly replaced in theaircraft, or other vehicle utilizing the miniature engine.

With the foregoing in mind, the presentinvention contemplates animproved starter construction which will permit the user to quickly andeasily replace a starting pull cord in a comparatively short time, andwhich does not require the use of more than ordinary skill.

It is a further object to provide unique and improved anchor means forsecuring the inner end of the pull cord to the winding drum, and inwhich wear and chafing of the anchored end of the pull cord will bereduced to a minimum, thus assuring longer operating cord life.

Another object is to provide an improved small engine starter having areplaceable starter pull cord, and which may be utilized with engines oftoy or model aircraft as well as toy boats, toy automobiles, and thelike.

Further objects of the invention will be brought out in the followingpart of the specification, wherein detailed description is for thepurpose of fully disclosing the invention without placing limitationsthereon. Referring to the accompanying drawings, which are forillustrative purposes only:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing a toy airplane having an enginestarter mounted therein, this starter embodying the features of thepresent invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary elevational view of the forward end ofthe fuselage of the toy aircraft, showing'the starter mounted therein,parts being broken away and sectioned to disclose the cooperativerelationship of the starter components;

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view showing the details of mountingand manner in which the pull cord is brought out; taken substantially online 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view showing details of the clutchmechanism and the manner of anchoring the inner end of the pull cordtaken substantially on line 4-4 of Fig. 2;

Patented. Aug. 12, 1958 Fig. 5 is a plan view showing details of thestarter construction and the location of the access opening to thewinding drum; and

Fig. 6 is a view of a manually operable crank member for moving thestarter components into cord replacing position.

Referring now generally to the drawings, there is illustrated in Fig. l,a toy or miniature aircraft embodying the features of the presentinvention, this aircraft comprising a fuselage body 10 having wings 12and 13 and tail structure 14 at one end of the fuselage. The other endof the fuselage is of hollow construction and provides an enginecompartment, this end of the fuselage being streamlined and associatedwith a forward spinner 15. The power plant as generally indicated at 16is mounted in the engine compartment and has a driving connection with apropeller 17. Fuel control 18 is brought out through an opening 19 inthe fuselage of the engine compartment, while a flexible pull cord 20 isbrought out through an elongate slot opening 21 in the Wall of thefuselage, the openings 19 and 21 being positioned rearwardly of thepropeller 17.

The starter mechanism will be subsequently described in detail, but isgenerally of a construction which has a one way clutching mechanism forstarting the motor or engine in a driving direction by pulling upon thepul? cord 29. Placing the pull cord rearwardly of the propeller providesa safety feature which is of great portance in small aircraft of thistype in that the air stream from the propeller acts to blow the pullcord away from the propeller so that it may be rewound without becomingentangled so as to create an unsafe hazard for the young people whousually fly this type of plane.

Major problems in the construction of a starting mechanism for enginesin miniature or model devices reside in the provision of a practicalstructure which is of sufficiently small size and weight to enable usewith and fit within the confined spaces in which it becomes necessary tomount the engine and starter, and which is so constructed as to operatesuccessfully at all times and not be rendered inoperative by the gummyengine fuel getting on the starter parts. Such conditions are especiallyapparent in the engine compartment of model aircraft, and as thestarters were heretofore constructed, the replacement of a broken orfrayed pull cord became a major operation which necessitated return ofthe engine to the builder. The starter of the present invention is soconstructed with respect to its component parts that pull cordreplacements may be readily made in the field with the exercise ofordinary skill. The details of the starter construction will now bedescribed, having particular reference to Fig. 2 of the drawings.

The engine of the power plant 16 has a crankcase 22 formed with asuitable bearing support for a projecting main shaft 24. At its outerend, the main shaft is fitted with the propeller 17 of conventionalconstruction and is also connected with the spinner 15 which extendsover the hub portion of the propeller.

The starter is positioned between the engine crankcase structure and thepropeller, and comprises a two part housing as generally indicated at25. One part of the housing is formed by means of a cupped member 26which is arranged in concentric relation around the shaft 24 and fixedlysecured to the crankcase 22 by suitable conventional means. Theperiphery of the cupped member is formed by an annular flange 28 so thatthis cupped member has an open end defined by a rim edge 29.

The other part of the housing is formed by a drive plate 30 centrallyprovided with a cylindrical hub 31 ar ranged to have a spline or othersuitable connection with the shaft for rotation therewith. At itsperiphery, the

drive plate 30 has an axially extending flange 32, the edge of whichregisters with the rim edge 29 of the cupped member 26.

Mounted within the housing is a winding drum 33 having a tubular hub 34surrounding the main shaft 24 and rotatably supporting the winding drumwithin the housing.

As its periphery, the winding drum 33 is provided with spaced side walls35a and 35b which extend outwardly from a generally cylindrical surface36 to form a circumferentially extending groove 37 which is adapted towindingly receive the flexible pull cord 20 therein. As best shown inFig. 4, the circumferentially extending surface 36 forming the bottom ofthe groove is provided with a flattened portion 36a. face, in spacedrelation thereto, there is positioned a pin 38 having its respectiveends mounted in the spaced side walls 35a and 3512. This pin 38 isutilized for anchoring the innermost end of the pull cord 20, and thisis accomplished by passing the innermost end of the pull cord under thepin, and then tying a knot 39 in the pull cord which will bear againstthe pin and thus anchor the pull cord to the winding drum. The use of apin in this manner is much more effective than, for example, utilizing asmall hole through which the inner end of the string or pull cord ispassed and then knotted. The pin having rounded surface reduces chafingof the cord and results in extending the useful life of the pull cord.The free end of the pull cord extends through an opening 40 in theflange 28 of the cupped member 26. The exterior portion of the pull cordis provided with an end loop 41 to facilitate manual manipulation by anoperator. Inwardly spaced from this looped end, the pull cord may beknotted as indicated at 42 so as to limit the rewind movement of thepull cord.

On one side of the winding drum, there is positioned a coiled spring 43,one end of this spring being connected with the winding drum, while theother end of the spring is connected with the cupped member 26. Thisspring is spiralled in a proper direction to actuate the winding drum soas to rewind the pull cord automatically.

On the opposite side of the winding drum there is positioned a cam plate46, this plate being secured to the adjacent end of the tubular hub 34for rotation therewith. As shown in Fig. 4, the cam plate 46 is providedon diametrically opposite sides with inclined recesses 47, theserecesses being formed by an edge 48 and an edge 49 at right anglesthereto. The inclined recesses 47, subtend the flange 32 of the driveplate 30, and within each recess there is positioned a disc 59 which isadapted to roll edgewise within the associated recess. As so arranged,when the disc 50 is against the edge 49, the drive plate will bedisconnected with respect to the cam plate 46. However, when the pullcord 20 is pulled by grasping the end loop 41, the cam plate will berotated, but due to the inertia of the disc 50 these discs will tend toremain stationary and will assume a wedging position between theassociated edge 48 and the adjacent surface of the flange 32 so as tointerconnect the cam plate and drive plate for unitary movement, therebycausing rotation of the crankshaft to start the engine.

As soon as the engine starts, the drive plate movement will overrun, andthis action will tend to move the discs 50 to a non-wedging position andpermit free operation of the engine. Upon releasing the pull cord, thespring 43 acts to return the pull cord to the winding drum.

In order to replace a pull cord, when it becomes broken or frayed, itwill be apparent that it will be necessary to have access to theanchored end of the pull cord. In the construction of the hereindescribed engine starter, access to the winding drum is accomplished bythe provision of an elongate notch 51, as shown in Fig. 5, which is cutout of the rim edge 29 of the cupped member 26. While this notch givesaccess to the pull cord wound on the winding drum, it is still notpossible to quickly replace the cord without its being unwound so as toget at its Above this flattened sur- 4 point of anchorage. This problemis overcome by the provision of an additional crank element 52, as shownin Fig. 6. The ends of this crank have oppositely deflected end portions53 and 54, respectively. The end portion 53 is utilized for temporarilyinterconnecting certain elements of the starter mechanism, while the endportion 54 serves as a manually engageable handle by which the crank maybe motivated to move the interconnected starting elements to properposition for pull cord replacement, in a manner that will now bedescribed in detail.

Referring to Fig. 3, the drive plate 30 is shown as being provided withan axially extending opening 55 which is outwardly spaced from the shaft24 and is of appropriate diameter to receive endwise therein the endportion 53 of the crank element. Likewise, the cam plate 46 is providedwith an opening 56, as shown in Fig. 4, this opening being similarlyspaced from the shaft 24 and adapted to register with the opening 55,when the drive plate 30 is rotated in a counterclockwise direction asviewed in Fig. 3. Also, spaced a similar distance from the shaft 24 isan opening 57 in the cupped member 26, as shown in Fig. 2, this openingbeing adapted to register with the opening 56, when the cam plate 46 isrotated to the proper position in a counterclockwise direction.

Replacement of a pull cord will now be explained. It will be observedthat the opening 55 is ordinarily covered by the propeller so that it isfirst necessary to remove the propeller in the case of a toy aircraftinstallation as shown in Fig. 1.

Referring now to Fig. 3, the driving plate 30 is rotated.counterclockwise until the opening 55 registers with the opening 56,whereupon the end portion 53 is inserted endwise through the registeredopenings, whereby the driving plate and the winding drum are lockedtogether for unitary motion, independently of the clutching mechanism.The crank element 52 will be in the position shown in dotted lines sothat it fulcrums over the shaft 24 and places the handle end portion 54in a position where it may be easily grasped. The crank is now wound ina counterclockwise direction for three or four turns, or until thespring 43 is fully wound. The crank is now backed off by moving itslowly in a clockwise direction until the end portion 53 can be pushedthrough the opening 57. Since the cupped member is a fixed or stationarymember, the winding drum will now be held against the biasing action ofthe spring 43, and in this position, the pin 38 will be positionedimmediately below the notch 51. The remaining portion of the old pullcord may now be removed without difliculty.

A new pull cord is now threaded through the opening 40 and the innermostend thereof passed under the pin 38. A secure knot, as shown at 39, isthen tied in this end of the cord about one inch or so from its end. Theknot is then pulled up tight against the pin and surplus cord is thenremoved to leave approximately a one-fourth inch tail extending beyondthe knot. A stop knot 40 is then tied in the pull cord, six and one-halfinches from the knot 39, and a pulling loop provided approximately threeinches beyond the latter knot.

The crank 52 may now be removed to release the drum and driving plate,whereupon the spring 43 will rotate the winding drum in a rewinddirection. The cord replacement has thus been accomplished, and uponreplacement of the propeller, the air craft is again ready foroperation.

Various modifications may suggest themselves to those skilled in the artwithout departing from the spirit of our invention, and, hence, we donot wish to be restricted to the specific form or forms shown or usesmentioned, except to the extent indicated in the appended claim.

We claim:

A starting device for a toy engine having a main shaft, comprising: astationary part having an opening therein; a winding drum concentric ofsaid shaft, said drum having an opening therein adapted to be alignedwith the stationary part opening; a flexible starting cord wound on saiddrum and having its inner end anchored thereto; a spring for actuatingthe drum in a direction to rewind the starting cord; a member rotatablewith said shaft and having an opening therein adapted to be aligned withthe drum opening; one Way clutch means connectible between said drum andmember for rotating said shaft when a pulling force is exerted on thecord; manually operable crank means having an end portion adapted forinsertion endwise through the aligned member opening and drum opening toconnect said shaft and drum for unitary movement independently of saidclutch means and enable unwinding movement of the drum by the crankmeans to a position for exposing the anchored-end of the pull cord andfor aligning the drum opening with the stationary part opening,whereupon said end portion may be further inserted into the latteropening for holding the drum against the rewind action of said springwhile replacing the pull cord.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Re.14,297 Bootz May 8, 1917 170,605 Tucker Nov. 30, 1875 1,146,054 CurryJuly 13, 1915 2,135,831 Nilsen Nov. 8, 1938 2,417,587 Damstra Mar. 18,1947 2,500,076 Honeyman Mar. 7, 1950 2,585,850 Sager Feb. 12, 19522,642,698 Fishburne June 23, 1953

